Orlando Hotels

One of Orlando's best options for families outside of a theme park. The property's 777 suites, all with kitchens or kitchenettes, are spacious and well designed to sleep families. The huge range of kid-pleasing features include two water parks, an arcade, and a "4D Experience" theater. The resort focuses…

The Grand Floridian, Disney's crown jewel, is as elegant as it is expensive. Its prime location on the monorail and the Seven Seas Lagoon makes this deluxe resort one of the most conveniently located, but its upscale restaurants, full-service spa, and formal décor appeal more to adults than children.

The 998-room JW Marriott is one of the most luxurious resorts in Orlando, and not just because it shares a gorgeous golf course and spa with the adjacent Ritz-Carlton. Its big rooms, streaming lazy-river pool, and acclaimed Italian restaurant are all among the best in Orlando -- a great choice, for business…

Like all Universal resorts, the 1,000-room Royal Pacific has solid service, great dining, and modern, very comfortable rooms. While it lacks the spa of Portofino Bay (though guests have access to it) and the incredible waterslides at Hard Rock and Portofino, its more relaxing, Hawaiian style (including…

Just 15 minutes south of Disney, the sprawling 411-room Reunion Resort is one of Orlando's priciest condo resorts outside those at Disney. Despite having older TVs, however, its beautiful one-bedroom villas with full kitchens, daily kids' activities, huge water park, 54 holes of golf, excellent restaurants…

Modeled after an East African safari lodge, with giraffes and gazelles that freely roam the grounds, the 762-room Animal Kingdom Lodge is one of the Disney's most unique resorts. Its massive pool, free children's activities, knowledgeable staff, and excellent gym make it one of Disney's best, but it's…

Modeled after the real Portofino Bay on the Italian Riviera, this 750-room Loews hotel has nightly singers in the piazza, five great Italian restaurants, and a waterslide that resembles a Roman aqueduct. It's the most expensive of Universal's three resorts, but that's because of its bigger, more beautiful…

One of Disney's least expensive resorts, the 1,920-room All-Star Movies Resort is one of three adjacent, virtually identical All Star properties. Small, worn rooms, scarce food options, two fairly ordinary pools, and Disney's standard set of free services -- not bad, for the price, but the similarly…

Like all Universal resorts, the 650-room Hard Rock has solid service, great dining, and modern, very comfortable rooms. While it lacks the spa and quieter ambience of the pricier Portofino Bay, its pools and facilities are equally impressive. Plus, its more modest, rock 'n' roll theme might better appeal…

It's value over frills at the enormous, 2,880-room Disney Pop Century. Elements like the Hippy Dippy Pool nod to trends from the latter-half of the 20th Century, but its small rooms look grimy. However, given its more convenient location near Epcot and faster, direct shuttle access to the theme parks…

Made to look like Atlantic City in the 1940s, the more subdued Boardwalk Villas rests beside a glittering stretch of great restaurants, bars, and carnival games on Crescent Lake, within walking distance of Epcot and Hollywood Studios. In addition to its pools, waterslide, and great gym, all of its large…

Located about 15 minutes from both Disney and Universal Studios on the beautiful (and massive) Grande Lakes resort grounds, the Ritz-Carlton is one of the best luxury hotels in Orlando -- swanky rooms, great pools, and a giant spa. But, since it shares all its features with the virtually identical JW…

Coronado Springs, a 1,961-room resort near Animal Kingdom, caters to visiting conventioneers (quiet pools, business center, Wi-Fi) and vacationing families (Mayan-temple pool and waterslide). Its rooms are among Disney's best, especially in the "Moderate" category, given that the 2009 renovation brought…

As a time-share-style resort, Mystic Dunes' 986 condo units (each with a full kitchen and a washer-dryer), four pools, waterslide, popular golf course, and daily family activities make it a reasonable, more affordable alternative to Disney's villas (15 minutes away). But, with its lackluster service…